Us - Underground Renaissance (2024)

“The night time’s the right time.” We’ve heard that phrase before, but Finnish garage rock band Us gives it a fresh twist. The opening track of their debut album Underground Renaissance immediately grabs you firmly, and effortlessly holds your attention throughout the nine songs that follow. Teo Hirvonen (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Max Somerjoki (vocals, guitar), Pan Hirvonen (harmonica, backing vocals), Rasmus Ruonakoski (bass) and Levi Jämsä (drums, percussion) play indie rock like we heard more often in the 00s (The View, Dirty Pretty Things, The Pigeon Detectives, Razorlight, etc.), performed with the attitude of the R&B and punk bands from the 60s. They cover Jim Pembroke’s Just My Situation (from his 1974 Pigworm LP), which blends seamlessly with the originals that capture the exuberance of youth and Us’ experiences as young men successfully touring the world, taking inspiration from both their varied modern life experiences and yesteryear musical greats. Lyrically they score with clever references such as “I’m dreaming about the Paisley Underground // A place where nothing could bring us down” (from Paisley Underground), “If it gets too hard // I’ m gonna call Jim Sawyer // To ask his lawyer // To hand me your astral charts” (from Citroen Blues) and “Every time I see you smile // It’s like reaching eight miles high” (from While You Danced), musically it’s energetic and exciting. It’s the right time for Underground Renaissance.